President of Artisan Built Communities, Stephen Haines, joins host Carol Morgan for this week’s Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio episode. In this podcast segment, Haines discusses his involvement with the Holly’s House Project, a complete home restoration effort at a local family’s home in Roswell.

What is the Holly’s House Project?

When Haines discovered that a family had suffered significant water damage, mold infestation and structural issues in their 35-year-old home, he brought together a community initiative to restore it for the holidays.

Diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer for a second time, Holly Aarons exemplifies courage and determination. Artisan Built Communities and a generous team of volunteers were pleased to offer her and her husband, Patrick, a sound home for Christmas.

The restoration plan went all the way down to the studs, including complete interior demolition, mold remediation, structural repairs, new plumbing and electrical systems, insulation, drywall, paint, flooring, interior finishes and more. In addition, the Artisan Built Communities design team and Haven Design Works brought in new furnishings to create a warm, stylish homecoming for the Aarons family.

“They've been putting all their effort into restoring her health,” said Haines. “Their house needed help, and she needs to be able to enjoy being home when she's home.”

Haines called on his trade contacts and received a yes from over 40 trade suppliers. The project was completed after four weeks and unveiled to the Aarons on December 20.

“And so, we look for those opportunities, we can't do them every year, and we can't do them all the time, but we look for opportunities to meet this need,” said Haines. “And we're going to do it extraordinarily.”

How does the Holly’s House Project reflect Artisan Built Communities’ mission?

Haines emphasizes that his goal is to provide customers with better products, creating stronger relationships between his team, contractors and the families living in Artisan Built homes.

When the Holly’s House community team took the project down to the studs, small changes like widening the stairway and expanding the kitchen were made to simplify the Aarons’ daily life. The project allows Haines, his team and trade contacts to collaborate in a casual environment and grow together.

Haines said, “When we took the house down to the studs, we invited all the trades back out to the house, and we got to write on the studs of the walls and give encouragement to that family and kind of imprint that hope and faith onto the skeleton of that house before we covered it back up and made it a beautiful home.”

Outside of the home, Artisan Built Communities set up an Amazon wish list for the Aarons, with dozens of household items to keep them stocked up for a long time. Within days, the list was 100% completed, mostly by complete strangers who heard the story and wanted to contribute.

If you want to make a difference this holiday season, Holly Aarons requests that any further donations go toward Sisters by Choice, a nonprofit organization that aims to provide services for breast cancer patients and preventative resources. For more information about Sisters by Choice, visit www.SistersbyChoice.org.

Tune in to the full interview to learn more about Artisan Built Communities work across metro Atlanta. For more about Artisan Built Communities, visit www.DiscoverArtisan.com.

Special Thanks to the Companies that Made Holly’s House possible:

Builders First Source

Sound Concrete Solutions

Teale Design

Interior Logic Group

Wallcraft Exterior Solutions

Denim Marketing

ASG Rolloffs

Sherwin Williams

Haven Design Works

Elite Stone

Clearwater Plumbing

Cabinets and Countertops, Inc.

Jerel Builder Services

Ferguson

Dejesus Painting Inc.

Turnkey Interior Trim

Metro

SEC Concrete & Coatings

RGP

RGP

31-W

VE

Deck Source

Cartersville Flooring

Shaw Floors